K.S. Rajan (4
Feb 2012)"INSIGHTS OF A FORMER
CIA DIRECTOR: IS AN ISRAELI-IRANIAN WAR IMMINENT?"

INSIGHTS OF A FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: IS AN
ISRAELI-IRANIAN WAR IMMINENT?
Posted: February 3, 2012 in Uncategorized
Meeting with Porter Goss several years ago while working on a
documentary on the Middle East.
Washington, foreign capitals, and the media are suddenly abuzz
this week with rumors of impending war between Israel and Iran.
Senior U.S. and Israeli officials are speaking with rare candor
about the growing possibility of Israeli airstrikes against
Iran’s nuclear facilities. A major New York Times Sunday
magazine story this week indicates the Israelis are readying to
hit Iran in 2012. A Washington Post story now reports that U.S.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta believes the Israelis are
considering massive airstrikes against Iran as early as April,
May or June of this year. At Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany
this morning, Panetta wouldn’t back away from the Post report,
effectively confirming the story. Since October, the
administration has been pressuring Israel not to even consider
such strikes. The fact that Panetta is talking openly about an
Israeli first strike suggests the White House is deeply worried
the epicenter is about to be engulfed in war and are preparing
the nation — and the world — for such eventualities.

UPDATE: Iran developing missile to reach the
United States
UPDATE: Ahmadinejad calls for a new world
order
UPDATE: Khamenei threatens U.S.
UPDATE: U.S. fears Iran’s links to al-Qaeda

Is the handwriting on the wall? Is war imminent? I believe the
concerns are very valid and that Israeli Prime Minister
Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are, in fact,
finalizing their war plans and their civil defense preparations.
They may not have made a final decision, but they see the U.S.
or international community moving too slowly and indecisively.
They fear Iran will have operable nuclear weapons by the end of
the year, and even though Iran may not yet be able to attack
those to high-speed ballistic missiles — yet being the operative
word — they fear a second Holocaust if they don’t act soon.
That said, not everyone is convinced an Israeli-Iranian war will
break out in 2012. This week, I had a long lunch with former CIA
Director Porter Goss. We discussed the rising tensions in the
epicenter, where they might lead, and the Shia End Times
theology driving the current regime in Tehran. Goss and I first
met several years ago when I was doing research on Mideast
issues. I was surprised but intrigued to learn that he had read
Epicenter several times and had become curious about Bible
prophecy and its relevance to current events. He recently read
The Twelfth Imam and The Tehran Initiative. We had a great
conversation covering a wide range of issues and I wish you
could have been with me. While he and I don’t see completely eye
to eye on every issue (one might be on how fast events are
moving), I deeply respect his wisdom, experience and analysis
and wanted to share his vantage point and his insights with you.
Q: How do you assess the likelihood of war between Israel and
Iran in 2012?
GOSS: The regime in Tehran has already declared they want to
push Israel into the sea. Most observers agree that present
Iranian leadership lacks the capability, but not the intent to
destroy Israel. Despite the open hostility and the
behind-the-scenes maneuvers being conducted by both sides, I
believe it unlikely open warfare will break out in 2012. I would
look for increasing provocation, more intense covert action,
extended psychological warfare and heightened international
attention about nuclear proliferation.
Q: How serious a threat do you regard a nuclear-armed Iran to
U.S. national security, aside from Israeli security?
GOSS: I rate a nuclear weapon capability in the hands of the
present Iranian regime in the top four or five national security
concerns of the United States. Principally, providing radical
extremist terrorists and state-sponsored terrorist organizations
like Hezbollah access to weapons of mass destruction constitutes
a clear and present danger. It is a game-changer for our country
which we will have to address forcefully and timely. Secondly,
opening the gateway to nuclear proliferation follows on the
heels of a Persian nuke. Other countries in a region already
seething with instability and despair will look to their own
safety by acquiring nukes; continuing U.S. hesitation to
forcefully address the Iranian situation will be a boon to
illegal proliferation activity.
Q: Given all you know about the Iranian regime, do you believe
they could be effectively contained, or deterred from using a
nuclear weapon? And how much do you worry about the Shia
eschatology espoused by Khamenei and Ahmadinejad?
GOSS: The critical question for Israel – and the United States –
is the rationality of the current regime in Iran. Is their
misplaced radicalism so great that they will accept certain
destruction if they first strike with the Persian nuke?
Notwithstanding the passionate and hateful rhetoric of Khamenei,
Ahmadinejad, the Assembly of Experts and others, I assess they
would probably use the nuclear capability for bargaining
leverage rather than first strike, at least for the near future.
Khamenei’s actions seem to add up to self-survival rather than
martyrdom by nuclear vaporization. That makes me think he
rationally utilizes “irrationality” as a useful negotiating
weapon. The references to the Twelfth Imam fit nicely into the
regime’s pattern of keeping Iran watchers off balance. Khamenei
is deadly serious about maintaining power on earth. Hopefully,
Ahmadinejad does not realize he is expendable before he is
expended . Otherwise, he might be tempted by martyrdom.
Q: Thanks, Porter. I really appreciate your insights. God bless
you.
———————
When asked about the signs of His return, Jesus told His
disciples, “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars.”
(Matthew 24:6)